Yes, the Rockets got their first taste of the infamous Hamptons 5 lineup—Curry, Durant, Thompson, Green, and Iggy—in Game 1.

Yes, this was a unit that was utilized a number of times during the regular season—totaling 28 games and 127 minutes—but was never used in any of the three meetings with Houston. With a 124.7 OffRtg and 116.3 DefRtg, this unique combo was enough to give Golden State the upper hand in spots against 29 teams.

And yes, in Game 1, this lineup was used to perfection, yielding a 122.3 OffRtg and 110.6 DefRtg in 17 minutes on the floor. But, there may be a remedy. And Mike D’Antoni might not have seen it, but it’s literally right in front of him.

During the regular season, Houston sometimes would trot out three-guard lineups which also featured their three leading scorers: Harden, Paul, and Gordon.

The thinking behind this is obvious—if having two ball handlers/shooters/scorers is already devastating, imagine what adding a third could yield. Eric Gordon is no James Harden or Chris Paul, but his unique skillset is at least a lite version of the aforementioned duo. He’s able to score in different ways, capable of attacking off the dribble and getting to the paint, and he was third in the league in three pointers made.

Stick a hardnosed defensive warrior and corner specialist PJ Tucker and emerging two-way force Clint Capela in this mix, and you have yourself a very intriguing and very scary lineup.

In the January meeting with the Warriors, Mike D’Antoni brought this group in with 4:24 remaining in the fourth quarter, and up 105-104. Houston held Golden State to a mere four points the rest of the way, posting a 103.1 OffRtg and 92.9 DefRtg in an eventual 8 point win.

With Eric Gordon on the floor at the same time as Harden and CP3, he’s an added threat Golden State has to respect. Watch as Durant comes out too hard to contest what he thinks will be a catch and shoot after switching on the PnR. With KD out of the picture, Livingston has to rotate over and protect the paint. Gordon is able to keep the defense on its toes just long enough to kick out to Tucker, a 43.5% catch-and-shoot guy in the playoffs.

Contrary to common belief, Mike D’Antoni doesn’t live and die by isolation ball. Houston will run sets like this with this lineup from time to time, to create high percentage shots. This double dribble handoff creates so much space for a Gordon 3 because Looney and Curry are paying attention to Chris Paul coming off the initial handoff, Klay has to watch Harden, and Draymond is caught in no man’s land—sticking to Tucker or watching for a Capela rim roll.

In Game 1, we saw this unit together for about 6 minutes altogether. In the regular season, this normally wouldn’t be a sufficient sample size. In a seven game series however, half of a quarter is more than enough to swing a contest in either direction. Houston outscored Golden State 14-7 over the final 4:32 to turn a seven-point deficit into a tie game at halftime. Below, Clint Capela’s lateral quickness and focus is on display, able to stick with Curry and not be baited into a bad foul. The playoff leader in blocks swats Steph’s layup attempt off the backboard and gives Houston a transition opportunity, forcing a foul from Klay Thompson.

Here, we see defense-to-offense on display again. Upon securing the rebound, Paul sprints down the court and passes to a trailing Harden with steam, a common nightmare for any defense. Tucker is already stationed in the corner ready to fire in case Curry completely leaves him. This is Houston’s bread and butter—Harden waits just long enough for Looney to move an inch off of Capela, because he can throw lobs to him all day long.

And you know we couldn’t our good friend ISO. Had it been Trevor Ariza or Mbah a Moute instead of Gordon, the Warriors would have been able to help on this drive. Instead, they’re left helpless watching as James Harden lulls Looney to sleep. Harden scored 25 points on 9-12 shooting in ISO situations—so pretty good.

Tim Kawakami of The Athletic coined the phrase “Hamptons 5” for the Warriors lineup, which has since caught on and is now law. The Toyota Center is located at 1510 Polk Street, why not call Harden-CP3-Gordon-Tucker-Capela the Polk Street 5?

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